The invention relates to the field of packing, transportation and storage of products and materials such as flat and bent sheets which are particularly subjected to damages caused by shocks, shaking and other mechanical actions; and, it may be used in the glass-making industry for the delivery of glass for delivery and also for interplant transportations, as well as for glass transfer inside factories using glass for industrial processing, e.g. at furniture and mirror-making factories.
The invention may also be used for packing and transportation of other products which require safety of surfaces such as polished wooden panels, plastic sheets, and sheets of materials provided with a high-quality plastic coating and also other types of products which are capable of withstanding a certain longitudinal load applied to the end faces.
More specifically, the invention relates to the methods of placing glass sheets into a container, and in particular for packing glass sheets in a container for the purposes of package and transportation, and also to the equipment for these purposes, e.g. to the design of containers for glass or other brittle materials which are subjected to destruction or damage due to even the slightest mechanical actions.
In view of the development of new, highly-productive manufacturing methods in the glass-making industry and further improvement of conventional techniques of glass-making, and also in view of the evergrowing demand for glass in the construction industry, the scale of operations associated with packing, transporting and storing glass has been substantially enlarged.
Glass sheets are generally stored in a vertical position in large packs at storage facilities and in shops at glass-making factories. It is not unfrequent that the glass surface is damaged, especially if there is broken glass in the pack. To avoid damage to the glass, paper cardboard strips, cords, and similar spacers are provided between glass sheets. Glass sheets are separated by means of removable spacers placed on top or laterally of the stack only, and use is also made of specially comb-shaped members providing an air space between individual sheets of glass. For the transportation of glass, containers are generally used in which stacks of glass sheets separated by spacers are placed. The danger of damage to the glass is usually maximum during the handling and transportation operations, and certain technical difficulties also arise in using mechanical equipment for glass packing so that large waste of glass occurs in performing such operations, large quantities of packing materials are spent, and a considerable labour effort is required.
All these factors resulted in the demand for new methods for glass packing. There are a number of methods and apparatus for packing glass which are largely used.